


1985

by 19thjester



Series: Sam/Al [2]
Category: Quantum Leap
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, mutual blowjob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 03:41:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10235093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/19thjester/pseuds/19thjester
Summary: Al gets drunk and seduces his best friend after his fiancee leaves him at the altar.





	1. The Seduction: Al

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the structure for this from another writer. Sorry, but it worked for this one too! I've had the idea rattling around for a while, and I even had the prompt for this buried in one of my previous fics. It helps if you've already read my fics "Dinner Triptych" and "Shopping," but this one should be able to stand alone as well.

AL:

There was a vast gulf of silence separating us. Sam stared at the quarter-full bottle in his hand. His glassy dark green eyes stared at a point located a thousand miles away, beyond me, beyond Donna, beyond what happened six hours earlier in that chapel.

The bartender darted a glance at Sam before asking me, “Does your buddy want another drink?”

“Let him be. His fiancée left him on their wedding day,” I told him.

The bartender opened his mouth to suggest something, took another look at Sam, closed his mouth and moved to more profitable customers further down.

I knew what he was thinking. Why were we sitting here for hours, not drinking much and taking up valuable space? Even my glass of scotch was half-full. I wiped off the condensation on my glass with a napkin and took a sip.

Fact was, Sam didn't want to- scratch that and make it couldn't- go home. There would be too much there reminding him of what was missing. No sign of Donna’s clothes in the closet, no sign of her coffeemaker, no sign that Sam's wife would be home in their apartment waiting for her doting husband. I knew how that went. Hell, I’d been through it four times now. Sam had just been spared the misery of going through a marriage first. And as his buddy and best man, I was obligated to be there for him.

Sam, slumped over, his bow tie untied and lying crooked on the unbuttoned wing collar of his shirt, took another gulp of his beer. I didn't want to say anything just yet, so I studied him instead.

Around the time after Sharon left and before Sam met Donna, I started to think about Sam in a different way. I think I’d been having those thoughts for a long, long time, maybe going as far back as the day a kind medical resident told me the truth about Beth. But those thoughts were always tempered by the memory of getting walked in on as a midshipman.

_ ”Calavicci! What on earth do you think you're doing with Peters?” _

_ “Sir, we-” _

_ “No! This is unacceptable! Get dressed, you two! I’m taking you to Admiral Henry!” _

_ Midshipman Calavicci got dressed, as did his lover. He didn't understand. People in summer stock understood: you loved whoever you loved. Why didn't the military? _

_ Admiral Henry explained: “As eventual naval officers, you will be expected to serve in war, including times of combat. Do you know what happens in combat? When you’re in combat, the only thing between you and violent death is the man next to you. The man next to you should not be thinking of your body- he should be focused on keeping you safe from the enemy and accomplishing the mission. Since Dougherty says you two weren’t doing anything yet, this will be your one and only warning. Do you understand? You get caught again, you’ll be dishonorably discharged from the Navy.” _

_ As long as he was serving in the Navy, Midshipman- and eventually, Admiral- Calavicci understood that he could only be with women. With men, the most he could do was look without being too obvious and never touch them. _

Still, I looked. When I saw Sam, then barely in his twenties, sitting on the couch in the apartment I got after coming home from Vietnam, I also saw a floppy-haired, vulnerable puppy. A vulnerable puppy who’d done me a great favor.

Sam and I had kept in touch over the years and now we were working together on Star Bright. Remembering Admiral Henry's words from so long ago, I shoved exactly what I thought about the beauty of Sam Beckett to the back of my head. Instead, I focused our conversations on the intellectual and made jokes about women to ease things for myself whenever the thoughts got too uncomfortable.

But now that we were both single men, just like that time before, the thoughts were intruding even more. He was available. I was available, except for my being shackled to the damned Navy.

Donna was an idiot. How could she walk away from Sam? I took a gulp of my Scotch. Look at Sam. He was a beautiful man. His jock’s shoulders combined with his soft eyes said that he wouldn't hesitate to protect his loved ones from the world. 

I took yet another gulp and motioned to the bartender to bring me another glass, which he did. I took a sip from the new glass. How could Donna make all those plans with Sam then run out on him? Weddings were so much fun! She was missing out on all the food, the drinking and the dancing. She was missing out on seeing the man she loved all gussied up in a tux, on getting to tear down that tux after a long day and embracing the treasure within. I took another gulp. If I had to be honest with myself, I had envied Donna. I loved weddings! Why couldn't I have one with Sam? I’d appreciate him in his tux! I’d dance with him! I’d be making him happy and not leaving him all lonely and miserable!

Damn the Navy. I drained my glass and then asked the bartender for two glasses of whiskey on the rocks. 

Sam squinted at me. “What are you thinking, Al?”

_ About you _ , I wanted to say. But I wasn't there yet. Instead, I said, “Why are you drinking only beer? Your fiancée left you. That calls for something stronger, a lot stronger.”

Sam eyed the whiskey warily.

“It helped me get over Beth,” I added. I pushed one of the glasses towards him.

“Cheers,” Sam said tonelessly, bumping his glass into mine before taking a sip.

I took a sip of mine then the words poured out. “Donna is a bitch, you know that? She's missing out on a real prize.”

“A prize? Me? I'm just some farm kid from Indiana with a crazy idea.”

“Sam, Sam! No! Your idea ain't crazy at all! It's great!” Actually, I thought it was nuts, but I’m not going to tell that to the man I want in my bed. “You're brilliant, handsome, one of the most amazing guys ever. She's depriving herself!”

Sam took another gulp of the whiskey, then he rested his chin in his hand while looking at me. He managed to smile, the first time since the moment in the church when he realized Donna wasn't showing up. “Really?  _ You _ think I’m handsome?”

“Yes!” Damn the Navy, damn the Navy… “You're cute! You're a great catch! Shit, I wish I could have been in Donna’s place today. Why couldn't I have been the one to dance with you, to make you laugh instead of leaving you to cry and be alone?”

Both of Sam’s hands were supporting his chin and he was leaning forward. “Want to dance?”

Shit. Had I really said those words out loud? Damn it, why couldn't they stay in my head where they were supposed to stay? I glanced around. We weren't exactly in an urban area. “Not here, Sam…”

Sam took a long gulp of his whiskey. “What do you want, Al?”

I froze, my hand curled around the glass. What could I say? That yes, I wanted to be with him and love him as he should be loved but my employer said I couldn't? I wanted to scream, “Fuck the Navy!” but I’d already been there and it hadn’t ended well. Instead, I took another swallow of my whiskey and said, “You.” Might as well get it out into the open, eh?

Sam’s cheeks turned pink, but he didn't seem too surprised. “Why me?”

“Because… Sam Beckett, you are the brightest, most beautiful man I know and I think Donna is an idiot for leaving you, especially on a day like this, what was supposed to be your wedding day.”

Sam’s cheeks turned even pinker as he considered my words. “And you really want me? You're not putting me on?”

“Absolutely. Listen Sam, tell ya what. Let's pay off our tab, I’ll call up a taxi, I’ll take ya home to my place and I’ll show you how much I want you.”

My vulnerable puppy slapped down his hands on the table. “Let's do that. I’ll call the cab, you pick up the tab.”

As I paid off our drinks with the bartender, I could feel eyes on me. I silently prayed that nobody would say anything at Star Bright on Monday.

Sam jogged up to me. “C’mon, Al, the taxi’s coming in ten minutes.”

We waited outside, neither of us saying anything. It was a cool summer night, a mercy compared to the much hotter day. The taxi rolled up. I told him my address and silently prayed that I would pass out as soon as we got there and I could tell Sam all of this meant nothing in the morning, that it was just silly drunken rambling.

But when I looked at Sam in the cab on the fifteen-minute ride there, all that fell away. How could I do this to him? Sam was already feeling very lonely and vulnerable and he needed someone tonight. With luck, he’d walk away in the morning and I could finally hush my thoughts about the beauty of Samuel John Beckett.

We arrived. I paid the cabbie then we got out. I grabbed Sam’s hand before I led him up the stairs to my apartment, like I did with any other girl I took home. One night, and my mind would be at rest.

It had been a long time since I’d been with a man, so I took it slow. We entered my apartment and went directly to the bedroom. I turned the bedside lamp on then turned to face Sam.

Sam’s eyes were wide and he was looking around the room like the lost puppy he was. I took him by the shoulders and directed him to sit down on the bed. I took off his bow tie and folded it up before laying it on the dresser. I unbuttoned his shirt for him and put it on a hanger, which then went on my closet door. I didn't want him to return his wedding clothes all wrinkled up.

As I took off my own tux, I heard Sam ask, “Want my pants off, Al?”

“Sure thing,” I said, distracted.

When I turned around, only in my pants, he was lying back on my bed only in boxers. My whiskey-fuzzed brain insisted that I rip off what was in the way so I could see him in his full glory, but I hushed it. I didn't want to scare Sam off yet. I calmly took off my pants and folded them up before sitting next to Sam on the bed.

“Come on, sit up here,” I said. Sam obeyed. I sat next to him, our backs against the headboard, and caressed his face and chest, fighting all urges I had to go faster.

Sam closed his eyes as I touched him and rested his head against the headboard. I scooted in closer so I could get a good feel on his back. God, it felt more amazing than I had hoped.

I rested my forehead against his as I touched him. My right hand moved up his back, up his neck and into his hair. My fingers curled and I pushed Sam’s face closer to mine so that our noses touched. Sam’s hands were still roving over me, copying what I did. His hands touched my chest, my arms, my back, my hair. His fingers weaved through my hair, trying to get a hold of my curls, but he was holding himself very stiffly, like he was afraid to get any closer.

Oh. It was his first time. Not a problem. I leaned in and my lips touched his. Strong lips kissed mine, then our arms were around each other as our lips tangled.

I moved away from the headboard, moving down Sam with me. Keeping my lips on his, I adjusted him so that he was lying down on the bed and I was lying on top of him.

I finally let go of his lips and he said, his eyes shining, “Oh God, Al. Don't stop.”

“I won’t.” We continued to kiss, my tongue wrestling with his. I could feel the hardness in his boxers underneath me, so I moved down, kissing him as I went. I arrived at his boxers and pulled them off. Sure enough, little Sam was standing at half-mast.

I dragged my tongue up the ridges of his dick then took my time licking and kissing it. Sam was propped up on his elbows, watching me. I intended to have him flat on his back. I teased him with little kisses until his dick was standing at full power. Oh, how I wanted to impale myself on it. But this wasn't the time. Sam needed someone right now. I was going to be that someone, but I didn’t want to overwhelm him.. 

I took his length into my mouth and down my throat, earning a groan from him. Soon after, with only a couple of pumps, the bedsprings creaked as his elbows collapsed. Good. Sam instinctively helped, rocking his hips into my mouth.

It didn’t take long. “Oh- oh- I’m coming!”

I took in the explosion, swallowing the salty stuff coming down my throat. I had never liked it when any of my girlfriends spat me out and I showed the same courtesy to Sam. Then I moved up so that my face was next to Sam’s and moved my fingers through his hair. “There. Now you're not so lonely anymore. You know you’ve got someone who loves you.”

Sam gave me a post-orgasm dopey smile then he curled up, his head resting on my chest. His hand wandered down my stomach to my underwear.

The aftermath of the alcohol was finally kicking in. “Sam, Sam, it's all right,” I said, my eyes lidded. I wanted to fall asleep with this beautiful man on me. “Remember, I had more to drink than you.”

His hand moved under the waistband to curl around my dick. Oh God, it felt so good. Why wouldn't downstairs respond? My upstairs was sure responding! “You made me feel so good, Al,” Sam said. “Why can't I make you feel good too?”

“It's not in the cards tonight, Sammy.” I tousled his hair. “Let's sleep, okay? It's been a long day for you.”

I turned off the lamp and we were under the blankets, his head on my chest. Occasionally during the night, I felt him shaking with sobs. During those times, I touched him, rubbing his bare skin wherever I could until he stopped shaking.

I dreamed. I was a stone idol standing in the middle of the desert, my Roman-inspired phallus standing straight out practically a mile in front of me. Sam, wearing the toga of one of my worshippers, approached the head of my dick. I warned him that nobody could take my entire length in, that he couldn't take me. He only gave me a smirk then opened his mouth wide. He steadily walked towards me, taking in more of me than I thought possible. I started jerking my hips towards him, wanting more of me in him. I wanted him to take me.

I felt the shaking of my body, warning me. “Sam, I’m-”

My eyes snapped open. I was cumming. The too-bright morning sun was coming through my bedroom window. And the man I’d had too many thoughts about for too long was fulfilling one of several fantasies with his mouth on my dick, swallowing me up. He finished licking off what was left of me then his face was next to mine. “Good morning, Al.”

“What was that for?” No. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to wake up, realize what a mistake he’d made, and bolt while I could finally be at peace and banish all the wrong thoughts about him out of my head forever. Incredibly, he was still here.

He only smiled at me and swiped his hand through my hair. “Last night was better than I expected.”

I was at a loss for words.

“I’d always wondered what it’d be like. I didn't expect it to be that good. Did you enjoy making me feel good?”

“Yes, yes, Sam, absolutely.” A thin tendril of hope snaked its way into my head, only to be banished by a bigger, looming thought. “Sam, the Navy frowns on homosexuality. If they find out about us, I’m gonna be dishonorably discharged. What am I going to do?”

“We’ll make it work, Al. At home, nobody has to know. We’ll look like friends at work, because we already are.”

Damn the Navy. I had the man I loved and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him go. “Are you sure, Sam? This isn't going to be easy. We can't tell anyone about us. We can't sleep with other men.” I’d already had a few old friends die from AIDS and didn't want to risk the havoc of that disease.

“I don't want any other men, Al. I want you.”

“All right. Let's give this a try.” What the hell… I was going to give it six months before Sam gave up and went back to women.


	2. The Seduced: Sam

SAM: 

I stood there, in front of people from Star Bright, in front of my own family, in front of my own best man, waiting like an idiot for my bride-to-be who never showed up.

Bless Al. If it wasn’t for him, I would have waited in that chapel forever. After a good thirty minutes had passed, he muttered something about how one of his wives had only been twenty minutes late to their wedding and stomped off to the minister’s office to make a call. He returned, his face stormy, and grabbed me by the arm.

“Sam,” he said, his voice rougher than usual. “I’m sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this. I tried calling the hotel where Donna’s mother was supposed to be staying. She told me that Donna was there, that she was so sorry, but she couldn’t go through with it.” His face brightened up. “Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about paying alimony to her!”

I took a deep breath to keep from strangling my own best man. I wanted to scream at him something like,  _ No, Al, I did not want to end up divorced from Donna. I wanted the opportunity to spend the rest of my life with her. _ Of course, his philandering self wouldn’t understand the concept of being loyal to only one woman at all.

“What am I going to do, Al?” I whispered, my face in my hands.

“Listen, I had a Navy buddy whose fiancee ran off on him like this once. I’ll take care of it.” He slung his arm around my shoulders and walked me to the minister’s office. “Sit here. Cry if you need to. I’ll close out things for you.”

Even if he could be an ass at times, Al was still a good man. At least he cared enough to say something.

I buried my face in my hands and the tears ran. What had I done wrong? Had I rushed things with Donna? No, she would have said something. The long engagement was our compromise, after our short dating period. It wasn’t that. No, it had to be me. Something was wrong with me. I was too awkward, too inexperienced. I hadn’t had a lot of serious relationships. I wasn’t emotionally ready to be married because I’d spent too long with books instead of women.

A woman’s voice spoke up. “Sam? Sweetie? I’m so sorry about what happened.”

I looked up at her and wiped at my tear-streaked cheeks with my palms. “Mom? What are you doing here?”

“Your friend Albert told me you might need me. He’s a total gentleman, telling us what happened with Donna. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Maybe,” I sniffled. “But Donna was the one I wanted.”

“It’s okay, Sam. You have time. There are other people out there. You know, I was once engaged to another man before your father, but it didn’t work out. That was for the best.”

“Really, Mom? You think there’s someone better out there for me?”

“Absolutely. Look, Katie and I are in town for another two days- do you want to meet us for breakfast tomorrow morning?”

“That’d be great.” I rubbed at my eyes.

“I’ll let you be alone. I think you need it for now.” She patted me on the back then left.

My face went back into my hands. I wasn’t ready for anyone else. I thought I’d found the one in Donna. How could I have anyone else? My mother had found my father, but I didn’t think I could find anyone else.

Then Al was there and the clock had somehow moved forward over an hour. “Sam? Sammy? It’s time to go. I got everyone else. Come on, let me take you home.”

“I don’t want to go home, Al,” I said. I thought I’d end this day with my getting to go home with my lovely bride to my apartment, and now I couldn’t even carry her over the threshold.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere but home.”

“Let’s go to the Dusty Rose, drown your sorrows, okay?”

The Dusty Rose was the local bar Al favored. I hadn’t been there many times, but I knew the place. Al ordered a dry beer for me and some scotch for himself, but all I could do was take tiny sips or stare glumly into my bottle.

My bowtie was undone. I wanted to be out of those wedding clothes but I couldn’t even go home to change. Where could I go tonight? Al’s? Oh, that’d be a hoot, me in one of Al’s loud outfits. They would probably fit me anyway with how loose they were on him. I had once asked him about why his pants were so baggy and he insisted that his junk needed room to breathe, whatever that meant. And where would I sleep in his place? His loveseat wasn’t the greatest place for someone as tall as me to sleep in. Still, it’d be better than sleeping in my empty apartment.

Dimly, I heard the bartender ask Al if I wanted another drink and Al explaining to him what happened. Great, tell the whole world that I’m a loser, why don’t you? 

Now Al was looking into his scotch, so I took the rare opportunity to look, really look, at him. He wasn’t this still that often since his hands were usually going everywhere while his mouth moved at a hundred miles an hour. With him so quiet now, I could really see his face. The intense eyebrows combined with the deep-set eyes that frightened the military people under his command at Star Bright if Al ever turned his wrath on them. But I knew how caring he could be. Hadn’t he taken care of the Donna situation for me?

There had been a few times over the years where I’d caught Al staring at me for a little too long, usually while he was between relationships. Whenever I asked, Al cracked some joke about how I had something on my face and should wipe it off. I wondered if he bent that way, but given his being in the Navy and how much he flirted with women, it didn’t seem likely. 

Had I wondered what it’d be like to be with the same gender? Oh sure, but I’d never had the opportunity. It never came up.

Al kept looking at me between rounds of drinking. He was drinking a lot more than I was. Was there something bothering him? Was he upset that Donna left me too?

Al finished his second- third? I’d honestly lost count- glass of scotch then asked the bartender for two glasses of whiskey.

I squinted at him, suspicious of how much he was drinking. Was he double-loading to save himself time? “What are you thinking, Al?”

Al looked into the distance then back at me. “Why are you drinking only beer? Your fiancée left you. That calls for something stronger, a lot stronger.” He pushed the whiskey towards me.

I eyed the glass. I didn’t really drink whiskey.

“It helped me get over Beth,” Al added. He never really mentioned Beth much to me- all I knew was that she was his first wife, who’d left him while he was in Vietnam. She had meant a lot to him, once upon a time. I remembered his crying over her, so long ago in Maryland.

Since it was the first one, maybe he had needed the help then. “Cheers,” I said. I bumped my glass into Al’s before taking a sip. It burned, but I swallowed it down with a grimace. I took another sip, and the warmth of the whiskey worked its way through me. Maybe Al was onto something, after all.

Al’s words were starting to get muddled, but I could still understand him. He said, “Donna is a real bitch, yanno that? She’s missing out on a real prize.”

“A prize? Me?” I took a third sip of my whiskey. “I’m just some farm kid from Indiana with a crazy idea.” I’d once told Donna about my time travel idea. She had seemed really skeptical, saying the physics equations to work all that out were really complicated.

“Sam, Sam! No! Your idea ain't crazy at all! It's great! You're brilliant, handsome, one of the most amazing guys ever. She's depriving herself!”

How drunk was Al that he was calling me handsome? The flickering suspicions I’d had over the years got stronger. “Really?  _ You _ think I’m handsome?” Albert Calavicci, who was loyal to the Navy and loved women of all stripes, was calling a man attractive? What had been in that scotch he’d been drinking all evening? 

“Yes! You're cute! You're a great catch! Shit, I wish I could have been in Donna’s place today. Why couldn't I have been the one to dance with you, to make you laugh instead of leaving you to cry and be alone?”

What on earth was Al saying? Still, dancing with him sounded like fun. At least I could tease him about it later. And he wanted to be there for me. I didn’t think anyone wanted to be there for me like that, not after what had happened today. I took a long gulp of my whiskey. How fun would it be to dance with Al? He did know his way around the dance floor and I’d get to play with those curls that women fawned over so much, see what all the fuss was about. I leaned forward. “Want to dance?” There was a dance floor in the Dusty Rose, wasn’t there?

Al leaned backwards. Uh-oh. Had I said the wrong thing? “Not here, Sam…”

Oh. I couldn’t get to dance with him. What could I get? “What do you want, Al?”

He turned white, as did the knuckles on the hand holding his glass. Then he squeaked out, “You.”

So there had been something to those suspicions, after all. But me? “Why me?”

“Because… Sam Beckett, you are the brightest, most beautiful man I know and I think Donna is an idiot for leaving you, especially on a day like this, what was supposed to be your wedding day.”

I could feel my face turning red at this. My best friend, the guy I’d chosen to be my best man, cared about me this way? He was right, Donna was an idiot. But he really thought I was beautiful? “And you really want me? You're not putting me on?”

“Absolutely. Listen Sam, tell ya what. Let's pay off our tab, I’ll call up a taxi, I’ll take ya home to my place and I’ll show you how much I want you.”   


He wanted me? Well, I’d always been curious and now the opportunity was presenting itself to me. As Al always said, carpe diem. Yes, I wanted this. At the least, I’d get a good night of sleep before I decided what to do about coming home to my apartment. I could meet my mom and sister for breakfast, then figure out what to do… “Let's do that. I’ll call the cab, you pick up the tab.”

I had my wallet on me, with an emergency stash of pay phone change. I dialed up a taxi company, gave them the addresses of the Dusty Rose and Al’s apartment, and they told me they’d have a cab out there in ten minutes.

I hurried back to Al, who had paid off the tab. “C’mon, Al, the taxi’s coming in ten minutes.”

In the cool night air, standing next to my best man, I wondered if this kind of thing had happened before, the groom going home with his best man instead of the bride. The taxi arrived and we got in. I laid my hand on the middle seat and thought about reaching for Al’s hand, but I reconsidered it. I missed Donna. I’d still miss her for a while. But at least I now knew that I had someone who wanted me.

We arrived, and Al paid up before we got out. We waited for the taxi to leave. Then we went up the stairs to his apartment on the second floor. Al grabbed my hand, which sent an unexpected electrical surge through me. Was I really going to do this? What was I thinking?

We went in, and Al took me straight to his bedroom. This was incredible. This wasn’t happening. I should have been the one leading Donna into my bedroom, getting her ready for that night. But it was Al who sat me on his bed, took off my bowtie for me, took off my shirt. Then Al started to get undressed.

This was really happening. I looked down at my pants. Those were going to get in the way. “Want my pants off, Al?” I asked.

“Sure thing,” he said, and I took the opportunity to take them off. Then I lay back on his bed. What would we be doing? I didn’t know what to expect.

Al turned around and his eyes lit up when he saw me. He took off his pants, folded them (why didn’t I think of that?) then sat down at the head of the bed. “Come on, sit up here,” he said and I obeyed.

He touched me and I closed my eyes. I did not expect Al to be touching me like this, but it felt good. I rested my head against the headboard. All I wanted right now was to be touched, to be comforted, and Al was doing great with that.

Al moved in closer to me, so that our foreheads and noses were touching, and he kneaded the muscles in my back. I wanted to make him feel as good as he was making me feel. I copied what Al was doing, touching him, feeling him. My hand went into his hair. What should I do now?

Then Al kissed me and I nearly gasped from shock. I kissed him back, feeling the same electrical sparks from when he’d grabbed my hand, except stronger. I grabbed for him as he grabbed for me, and soon he was on top of me. He stopped kissing me, for some idiotic reason, and I begged, “Oh God, Al, don’t stop.”

“I won’t,” he said, smirking. We continued to kiss, then Al moved down me, still kissing. What was he doing? I wanted his lips back on mine. He took my boxers off. Oh, this was what came next. Then Al put his mouth on me, further down, and I moaned. He took me in and I fell back. This was amazing. How was this happening to me? I’d lost something earlier that day, but I’d also gained this.

I gasped out, “Oh- oh- I’m coming!”

Al swallowed me, then lay down next to me. He moved his fingers through my hair and said, his eyes kind,  “There. Now you're not so lonely anymore. You know you’ve got someone who loves you.”

Al loved me. All those too-long looks over the years… it explained so much. I smiled at him. I wanted to make him happy, to return the favor. I rested my head on his chest then I moved my hand into his underwear. So this was what it was like, to touch someone else like how I touched myself. 

Above me, Al said, his voice slurring more now, “Sam, Sam, it's all right. Remember, I had more to drink than you.”

I didn’t care. I wanted him. I tried, but it wouldn’t respond like mine had. “You made me feel so good, Al. Why can't I make you feel good too?”

“It's not in the cards tonight, Sammy.” Al tousled my hair, smiling at me. “Let's sleep, okay? It's been a long day for you.”

It had. Al turned off the lamp and I slept, curled up, my head on his chest, rising and falling with his breaths. That didn’t last long, since I had fitful dreams on and off all night where Donna leaving me replayed over and over in my head. These ended with me sobbing, but Al always reached out to tenderly rub me on my back and say, “Shh, shh, it’s okay.” At one point, I think he was singing a lullaby in what sounded like Italian, but I’m not sure.

The morning sun woke me up. Al was next to me, sawing logs, flat on his back, his morning wood sticking up underneath the blankets. He mumbled something in Italian, something sounding like an excerpt from the poem Catullus 16, then fell silent. 

I pushed back the blanket to look at Al. I remembered what I’d seen in him last night. I still wanted to make him happy. What if he woke up to me making him happy? I pushed aside his underwear and kissed it. Using my hands and mouth, I tried to do what Al had done for me last night. I followed the cues from his  moans and body movements until he gasped out that he was coming. I wasn’t prepared for how much of it there was, so I nearly gagged. But I licked up what I could then I lay next to him, the man that I’d just satisfied for the first time in our lives. “Good morning, Al.”

Al’s eyes widened. “What was that for?”

I smiled at him and touched his hair. “Last night was better than I expected. I’d always wondered what it’d be like. I didn't expect it to be that good. Did you enjoy making me feel good?”

“Yes, yes, Sam, absolutely. But Sam, the Navy frowns on homosexuality. If they find out about us, I’m gonna be dishonorably discharged. What am I going to do?”   
  
We didn’t have to tell everyone, did we? “We’ll make it work, Al. At home, nobody has to know. We’ll look like friends at work, because we already are.”   
  
Al was sitting up now, looking very concerned. “Are you sure, Sam? This isn't going to be easy. We can't tell anyone about us. We can't sleep with other men.”   
  
“I don't want any other men, Al. I want you.”   
  
“All right. Let's give this a try.” 

I wasn’t sure how long this was going to be. Maybe I’d only be with him long enough to get over Donna, then I’d move on with my life. Maybe it’d be longer.

“What should we do today?” Al asked, laying back, a lecherous grin spreading across his face. “I could go for another round in fifteen minutes or so… we could do more…”

“We need to return our tuxedos to the rental place, then I have to meet my sister and mom for breakfast. Want to come with?”

Al hesitated, then he said, “I’ll go wherever you go, Sammy.”


	3. Epilogue

AL: Six months went by. Sam moved into my apartment.

SAM: Nine months went by. I’d moved in with Al to save money for our next project, but I realized that we really did work well together, both at work and at home. It was hard, not being able to be out in public, but it was great to come home to someone that I loved.

AL: A year went by. We discussed Project Quantum Leap and various physics problems related to the mechanics of time travel during our pillow talk. After so many of those discussions, Sam set up a whiteboard in our bedroom.

SAM: Three years went by. Al mentioned that some gay acquaintances he’d known for years had just had some kind of ceremony. “It’s not legal,” he said. “But they think of themselves as married.” “Want to get married, Al?” I asked. He wasn’t sure, but I assured him that we didn’t have to wear our wedding rings on our hands. It was a small ceremony, with only the few civilian friends who knew and my family, but it meant the world to both of us.

AL: Five years went by. On our fundraising trips to DC, we rented hotel rooms with one bed and told everyone it was because we were saving money. We wore our wedding rings on chains around our necks, tucked deep into our shirts, close to our hearts. If I had to take off my shirt for a military doctor, I always hid my ring deep in my pocket right before the appointment, feeling guilty every time.

SAM: Eight years went by. I vented my frustrations to Al every night about Project Quantum Leap. I wanted my baby to work out, but she wasn’t cooperating with me. I would do anything to get this project off the ground, even if it meant leaving my husband. 

AL: Ten years went by. I cursed Sam when he went into the Accelerator and Leaped early. Why did they have to threaten to take our funding away?! I had to pray he didn't have any questions about his past relationships. Because the government kept surveillance on everything in the Imaging Chamber, that had been one of the first things to go on his no-no list. I couldn't even hint to him that we were married. I slipped once, but I brushed that off in a hurry and Sam didn’t notice. I watched him be with woman after woman, desperately hoping that he never leaped into a gay man. His husband was the only man for him and I wanted it to stay that way. During his years away in other people, I waited as I Observed for him. I wanted him to come home. I wanted the door to the Acceleration Chamber to open. I wanted my husband, the love of my life, to walk out and greet me and be physically there for me at last.

SAM: Seventeen years went by. I found myself in a podunk bar in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania. The bartender there told me that I was the one leaping myself around in time, that I could choose to go. I remembered Al’s heartbreak over his first wife. Could I fix things for them? No, that couldn’t be it. He’d been… I remembered. I finally remembered, after so long. How could I have let myself forget? I knew where I had to go. I disappeared from the bar in a burst of blue light.

AL: Since I was officially out of the Navy when Sam returned, I was able to kiss him and get all the touches I wanted before I screamed at him about taking off and scaring me half out of my skin and I never, ever wanted him to do that kind of thing ever again. He only smiled that dopey Sam Beckett smile at me and said, “Al, I love you. I'm home now and I’m never leaving again.”


End file.
